Edward Stone joined Caltech
as a research fellow in physics after receiving his Master of Science
degree and Ph.D. in physics at the University of Chicago. Over the years,
he held a variety of positions, from assistant professor to Vice President
for Astronomical Facilities. In 1972 he became project scientist for
the Voyager mission, a position he currently still holds. He was the
Director of JPL from January 1991 to April 2001, when he went back to
teaching at Caltech.

While Stone was Director,
JPL's Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover sent back images that
were seen by millions of people on television and the Web. Among other
successes were the Mars Global Surveyor, Deep Space 1, TOPEX/Poseidon,
NASA Scatterometer, and the launch of Cassini, Stardust, and 2001 Mars
Odyssey.